Best of
Environment

2012

The Forest Unseen: A Year’s Watch in Nature


David George Haskell - 2012
    Visiting it almost daily for one year to trace nature’s path through the seasons, he brings the forest and its inhabitants to vivid life.Each of this book’s short chapters begins with a simple observation: a salamander scuttling across the leaf litter; the first blossom of spring wildflowers. From these, Haskell spins a brilliant web of biology and ecology, explaining the science that binds together the tiniest microbes and the largest mammals and describing the ecosystems that have cycled for thousands—sometimes millions—of years. Each visit to the forest presents a nature story in miniature as Haskell elegantly teases out the intricate relationships that order the creatures and plants that call it home.Written with remarkable grace and empathy, The Forest Unseen is a grand tour of nature in all its profundity. Haskell is a perfect guide into the world that exists beneath our feet and beyond our backyards.

Sightlines


Kathleen Jamie - 2012
    Her gaze swoops vertiginously too; from a countryside of cells beneath a hospital microscope, to killer whales rounding a headland, to the constellations of satellites that belie our sense of the remote. Written with her hallmark precision and delicacy, and marked by moments in her own life, Sightlines offers a rare invitation to pause and to pay heed to our surroundings.

The Ocean of Life: The Fate of Man and the Sea


Callum Roberts - 2012
    In the process, Roberts looks at how the taming of the oceans has shaped human civilization and affected marine life.We have always been fish eaters, from the dawn of civilization, but in the last twenty years we have transformed the oceans beyond recognition. Putting our exploitation of the seas into historical context, Roberts offers a devastating account of the impact of modern fishing techniques, pollution, and climate change, and reveals what it would take to steer the right course while there is still time. Like Four Fish and The Omnivore’s Dilemma, The Ocean of Life takes a long view to tell a story in which each one of us has a role to play.

Sowing Seeds in the Desert: Natural Farming, Global Restoration, and Ultimate Food Security


Masanobu Fukuoka - 2012
    This present condition of global trauma is not "natural," but a result of humanity's destructive actions. And, according to Masanobu Fukuoka, it is reversible. We need to change not only our methods of earth stewardship, but also the very way we think about the relationship between human beings and nature.Fukuoka grew up on a farm on the island of Shikoku in Japan. As a young man he worked as a customs inspector for plants going into and out of the country. This was in the 1930s when science seemed poised to create a new world of abundance and leisure, when people fully believed they could improve upon nature by applying scientific methods and thereby reap untold rewards. While working there, Fukuoka had an insight that changed his life forever. He returned to his home village and applied this insight to developing a revolutionary new way of farming that he believed would be of great benefit to society. This method, which he called "natural farming," involved working with, not in opposition to, nature.Fukuoka's inspiring and internationally best-selling book, The One-Straw Revolution was first published in English in 1978. In this book, Fukuoka described his philosophy of natural farming and why he came to farm the way he did. One-Straw was a huge success in the West, and spoke directly to the growing movement of organic farmers and activists seeking a new way of life. For years after its publication, Fukuoka traveled around the world spreading his teachings and developing a devoted following of farmers seeking to get closer to the truth of nature.Sowing Seeds in the Desert, a summation of those years of travel and research, is Fukuoka's last major work-and perhaps his most important. Fukuoka spent years working with people and organizations in Africa, India, Southeast Asia, Europe, and the United States, to prove that you could, indeed, grow food and regenerate forests with very little irrigation in the most desolate of places. Only by greening the desert, he said, would the world ever achieve true food security.This revolutionary book presents Fukuoka's plan to rehabilitate the deserts of the world using natural farming, including practical solutions for feeding a growing human population, rehabilitating damaged landscapes, reversing the spread of desertification, and providing a deep understanding of the relationship between human beings and nature. Fukuoka's message comes right at the time when people around the world seem to have lost their frame of reference, and offers us a way forward.

Love Letter to the Earth


Thich Nhat Hanh - 2012
    While many experts point to the enormous complexity in addressing issues ranging from the destruction of ecosystems to the loss of millions of species, Thich Nhat Hanh identifies one key issue as having the potential to create a tipping point. He believes that we need to move beyond the concept of the "environment," as it leads people to experience themselves and Earth as two separate entities and to see the planet only in terms of what it can do for them. Thich Nhat Hanh points to the lack of meaning and connection in peoples' lives as being the cause of our addiction to consumerism. He deems it vital that we recognize and respond to the stress we are putting on the Earth if civilization is to survive. Rejecting the conventional economic approach, Nhat Hanh shows that mindfulness and a spiritual revolution are needed to protect nature and limit climate change.

Closer to the Ground: An Outdoor Family's Year on the Water, in the Woods and at the Table


Dylan Tomine - 2012
    This tale follows Dylan Tomine and his family through four seasons as they hunt chanterelles, fish for salmon, dig clams and gather at the kitchen table, mouths watering, to enjoy the fruits of their labor. Closer to the Ground captures the beauty and surprise of the natural world—and the ways it teaches us how to live—with humor, gratitude, and a nose for adventure as keen as a child’s. It's a book filled with weather, natural history, and many delicious meals.

It All Turns on Affection: The Jefferson Lecture and Other Essays


Wendell Berry - 2012
    He wanted a fresh start, not only in looking at the groundwork of the problems facing our nation and the earth itself, but in gaining hope from some examples of repair and healing even in these times of Late Capitalism and its destructive contagions. As a poet and writer he understood already that much can be gleaned from looking at the vocabulary of these problems themselves and how we describe them. And he settled on “affection” as a method of engagement and solution. The result is the greatest speech he has delivered in his six decades of public life. It All Turns on Affection will take its place alongside The Unsettling of America and The Gift of Good Land as major testaments to the power and clarity of his contribution to American thought.We have taken this opportunity to include a small handful of other recent essays and a wonderful conversation between Mr. Berry, his wife Tanya Berry, and the head of the National Endowment of the Humanities Jim Leech, which took place just after the award was announced. The result offers a wonderful continuation of the long conversation Berry has had with his readers over many years and as well as a fine introduction to his life and work.

The Weed Forager's Handbook


Adam Grubb - 2012
    

Climate Changed: A Personal Journey through the Science


Philippe Squarzoni - 2012
    With the most complicated concepts made clear in a feat of investigative journalism by artist Philippe Squarzoni, Climate Changed weaves together scientific research, extensive interviews with experts, and a call for action. Weighing the potential of some solutions and the false promises of others, this groundbreaking work provides a realistic, balanced view of the magnitude of the crisis that An Inconvenient Truth only touched on.Climate Changed is printed on FSC-certified paper from responsibly-managed, environmentally-sound sources. Find teaching guides for Climate Changed and other titles at abramsbooks.com/resources.

The Man Who Planted Trees: Lost Groves, Champion Trees, and an Urgent Plan to Save the Planet


Jim Robbins - 2012
    The second best time? Today.”—Chinese proverb   Twenty years ago, David Milarch, a northern Michigan nurseryman with a penchant for hard living, had a vision: angels came to tell him that the earth was in trouble. Its trees were dying, and without them, human life was in jeopardy. The solution, they told him, was to clone the champion trees of the world—the largest, the hardiest, the ones that had survived millennia and were most resilient to climate change—and create a kind of Noah’s ark of tree genetics. Without knowing if the message had any basis in science, or why he’d been chosen for this task, Milarch began his mission of cloning the world’s great trees. Many scientists and tree experts told him it couldn’t be done, but, twenty years later, his team has successfully cloned some of the world’s oldest trees—among them giant redwoods and sequoias. They have also grown seedlings from the oldest tree in the world, the bristlecone pine Methuselah.   When New York Times journalist Jim Robbins came upon Milarch’s story, he was fascinated but had his doubts. Yet over several years, listening to Milarch and talking to scientists, he came to realize that there is so much we do not yet know about trees: how they die, how they communicate, the myriad crucial ways they filter water and air and otherwise support life on Earth. It became clear that as the planet changes, trees and forest are essential to assuring its survival.Praise for The Man Who Planted Trees“Absorbing, eloquent and loving . . . While Robbins’s tone is urgent, it doesn’t compromise his crystal-clear science. . . . Even the smallest details here are fascinating.”—The New York Times Book Review   “This is a story of miracles and obsession and love and survival. Told with Jim Robbins’s signature clarity and eye for telling detail, The Man Who Planted Trees is also the most hopeful book I’ve read in years. I kept thinking of the end of Saint Francis’s wonderful prayer, ‘And may God bless you with enough foolishness to believe that you can make a difference in the world, so that you can do what others claim cannot be done.’ ”—Alexandra Fuller, author of Don’t Let’s Go to the Dogs Tonight  “Scientists can be confined by their own thinking—they know what they know. It’s amazing for one layman to come up with the idea of saving champion trees as a meaningful way to address the issues of biodiversity and climate change. This could be a grassroots solution to a global problem. A few million people selecting and planting the right trees for the right places could really make a difference.”—Ramakrishna Nemani, earth scientist“The great poet W. S. Merwin once wrote, ‘On the last day of the world I would want to plant a tree.’ It’s good to see, in this lovely volume, that some folks are getting a head start!”—Bill McKibben, author of Eaarth: Making a Life on a Tough New PlanetThis book was printed in the United States of America on Rolland Enviro™ 100 Book, which is manufactured using FSC-certified 100% postconsumer fiber and meets permanent paper standards.

Coming Back to Life: The Updated Guide to the Work that Reconnects


Joanna Macy - 2012
    We are beset by climate change, fracking, tar sands extraction, GMOs, and mass extinctions of species, to say nothing of nuclear weapons proliferation and Fukushima, the worst nuclear disaster in history. Many of us fall prey to despair even as we feel called to respond to these threats to life on our planet.Authors Joanna Macy and Molly Brown address the anguish experienced by those who would confront the harsh realities of our time. In this fully updated edition of Coming Back to Life, they show how grief, anger, and fear are healthy responses to threats to life, and when honored can free us from paralysis or panic, through the revolutionary practice of the Work that Reconnects. New chapters address working within the corporate world, and engaging communities of color as well as youth in the Work.The Work that Reconnects has spread around the world, inspiring hundreds of thousands to work toward a life-sustaining human culture. Coming Back to Life introduces the Work's theoretical foundations, illuminating the angst of our era with extraordinary insight. Pointing the way forward out of apathy, it offers personal counsel as well as easy-to-use methods for group work that profoundly affect peoples' outlook and ability to act in the world.Joanna Macy is a scholar, eco-philosopher, teacher, activist, and author of twelve previous books including Coming Back to Life.Molly Young Brown is a teacher, trainer, counselor, and author of four previous books on psychology and Earth-based spirituality.

The Time of the Black Jaguar: An Offering of Indigenous Wisdom for the Continuity of Life on Earth


Arkan Lushwala - 2012
    The insights contained in the book originate from ancient indigenous cultures. According to what the author learned from his elders, human beings always have a choice between the path of competition and the path of cooperation. The healing of the earth depends on the healing of humanity and will only become possible as we return to a relationship of cooperation with all of life. In order to do this we first need to return to ourselves, remembering our original, inherent wisdom. Indigenous people believe that we humans have all the necessary talents to be caretakers of Mother Earth. This book reveals our true capacities in a strong and clear way, offering the reader not only information, but a real opportunity to participate in the work that needs to be done to save our planet.

Active Hope: How to Face the Mess We're in without Going Crazy


Joanna Macy - 2012
    Climate change, the depletion of oil, economic upheaval, and mass extinction together create a planetary emergency of overwhelming proportions. Active Hope shows us how to strengthen our capacity to face this crisis so that we can respond with unexpected resilience and creative power. Drawing on decades of teaching an empowerment approach known as the Work That Reconnects, the authors guide us through a transformational process informed by mythic journeys, modern psychology, spirituality, and holistic science. This process equips us with tools to face the mess we’re in and play our role in the collective transition, or Great Turning, to a life-sustaining society.

The Camping Trip That Changed America: Theodore Roosevelt, John Muir, and Our National Parks


Barb Rosenstock - 2012
    In 1903, President Theodore Roosevelt joined naturalist John Muir on a trip to Yosemite. Camping by themselves in the uncharted woods, the two men saw sights and held discussions that would ultimately lead to the establishment of our National Parks.

The Odyssey of KP2: An Orphan Seal, a Marine Biologist, and the Fight to Save a Species


Terrie M. Williams - 2012
    But as a member of the most endangered marine mammal species in U.S. waters, Kauai Pup 2, or KP2, is too precious to lose, and he embarks on an odyssey that will take him across an ocean to the only qualified caretaker to accept the job, eminent wildlife biologist Dr. Terrie M. Williams.The local islanders see KP2 as an honored member of their community, but government agents and scientists must consider the important role he could play in gathering knowledge and data about this critically endangered and rare species. Only 1,100 Hawaiian monk seals survive in the wild; if their decline continues without intervention, they face certain extinction within fifty years. In a controversial decision, environmental officials send KP2 to Williams's marine mammal lab in Santa Cruz, California, where she and her team monitor his failing eyesight and gather crucial data that could help save KP2's species.But while this young seal is the subject of a complex environmental struggle and intense media scrutiny, KP2 is also a boisterous and affectionate animal who changes the lives of the humans who know and care for him-especially that of Williams. Even as she unravels the secret biology of monk seals by studying his behavior and training him, Williams finds a kindred spirit in his loving nature and resilient strength. Their story captures the universal bond between humans and animals and emphasizes the ways we help and rely upon one another. The health of the world's oceans and the survival of people and creatures alike depend on this ancient connection.The Odyssey of KP2 is an inside look at the life of a scientist and the role that her research plays in the development of conservation efforts, bringing our contemporary environmental landscape to life. It is also the heartwarming portrait of a Hawaiian monk seal whose unforgettable personality never falters, even as his fate hangs in the balance.

A World in One Cubic Foot: Portraits of Biodiversity


David Liittschwager - 2012
    With every step, we disturb and move through cubic foot after cubic foot. But behold the cubic foot in nature--from coral reefs to cloud forests to tidal pools--even in that finite space you can see the multitude of creatures that make up a vibrant ecosystem. For "A World in One Cubic Foot"," "esteemed nature photographer David Liittschwager took a bright green metal cube--measuring precisely one cubic foot--and set it in various ecosystems around the world, from Costa Rica to Central Park. Working with local scientists, he measured what moved through that small space in a period of twenty-four hours. He then photographed the cube's setting and the plant, animal, and insect life inside it--anything visible to the naked eye. The result is a stunning portrait of the amazing diversity that can be found in ecosystems around the globe. Many organisms captured in Liittschwager's photographs have rarely, if ever, been presented in their full splendor to the general reader, and the singular beauty of these images evocatively conveys the richness of life around us and the essential need for its conservation. The breathtaking images are accompanied by equally engaging essays that speak to both the landscapes and the worlds contained within them, from distinguished contributors such as Elizabeth Kolbert and Alan Huffman, in addition to an introduction by E. O. Wilson. After encountering this book, you will never look at the tiniest sliver of your own backyard or neighborhood park the same way; instead, you will be stunned by the unexpected variety of species found in an area so small. "A World in One Cubic Foot" puts the world accessibly in our hands and allows us to behold the magic of an ecosystem in miniature. Liittschwager's awe-inspiring photographs take us to places both familiar and exotic and instill new awareness of the life that abounds all around.

American Canopy: Trees, Forests, and the Making of a Nation


Eric Rutkow - 2012
    This fascinating and groundbreaking work tells the remarkable story of the relationship between Americans and their trees across the entire span of our nation’s history. Like many of us, historians have long been guilty of taking trees for granted. Yet the history of trees in America is no less remarkable than the history of the United States itself—from the majestic white pines of New England, which were coveted by the British Crown for use as masts in navy warships, to the orange groves of California, which lured settlers west. In fact, without the country’s vast forests and the hundreds of tree species they contained, there would have been no ships, docks, railroads, stockyards, wagons, barrels, furniture, newspapers, rifles, or firewood. No shingled villages or whaling vessels in New England. No New York City, Miami, or Chicago. No Johnny Appleseed, Paul Bunyan, or Daniel Boone. No Allied planes in World War I, and no suburban sprawl in the middle of the twentieth century. America—if indeed it existed—would be a very different place without its millions of acres of trees. As Eric Rutkow’s brilliant, epic account shows, trees were essential to the early years of the republic and indivisible from the country’s rise as both an empire and a civilization. Among American Canopy’s many fascinating stories: the Liberty Trees, where colonists gathered to plot rebellion against the British; Henry David Thoreau’s famous retreat into the woods; the creation of New York City’s Central Park; the great fire of 1871 that killed a thousand people in the lumber town of Peshtigo, Wisconsin; the fevered attempts to save the American chestnut and the American elm from extinction; and the controversy over spotted owls and the old-growth forests they inhabited. Rutkow also explains how trees were of deep interest to such figures as George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Franklin, Teddy Roosevelt, and FDR, who oversaw the planting of more than three billion trees nationally in his time as president. As symbols of liberty, community, and civilization, trees are perhaps the loudest silent figures in our country’s history. America started as a nation of people frightened of the deep, seemingly infinite woods; we then grew to rely on our forests for progress and profit; by the end of the twentieth century we came to understand that the globe’s climate is dependent on the preservation of trees. Today, few people think about where timber comes from, but most of us share a sense that to destroy trees is to destroy part of ourselves and endanger the future. Never before has anyone treated our country’s trees and forests as the subject of a broad historical study, and the result is an accessible, informative, and thoroughly entertaining read. Audacious in its four-hundred-year scope, authoritative in its detail, and elegant in its execution, American Canopy is perfect for history buffs and nature lovers alike and announces Eric Rutkow as a major new author of popular history.

Garbology: Our Dirty Love Affair with Trash


Edward Humes - 2012
    But our bins are just the starting point for a strange, impressive, mysterious, and costly journey that may also represent the greatest untapped opportunity of the century. In Garbology, Edward Humes investigates trash—what’s in it; how much we pay for it; how we manage to create so much of it; and how some families, communities, and even nations are finding a way back from waste to discover a new kind of prosperity. Along the way , he introduces a collection of garbage denizens unlike anyone you’ve ever met: the trash-tracking detectives of MIT, the bulldozer-driving sanitation workers building Los Angeles’ Garbage Mountain landfill, the artists residing in San Francisco’s dump, and the family whose annual trash output fills not a dumpster or a trash can, but a single mason jar.  Garbology reveals not just what we throw away, but who we are and where our society is headed. Waste is the one environmental and economic harm that ordinary working Americans have the power to change—and prosper in the process.

Of Birds and Birdsong


M. Krishnan - 2012
    In this book, many of them are brought to vivid life by one of the country’s greatest naturalists and nature writers.M. Krishnan’s prose is studded with evocative descriptions of nature, literary allusions, stylistic flourishes, humour, and most rewardingly, precise observations and original insights into over a hundred species of birds in a variety of habitats. This is a work that will delight bird lovers of every stripe.As Zafar Futehally, one of the country’s best known ornithologists, says in his forward, ‘Every piece in this collection has something even for the seasoned naturalist, and even his description of common events holds your interest because of the writing.’

Turn Here Sweet Corn: Organic Farming Works


Atina Diffley - 2012
    She’s a farmer. It’s “as big as a B-size potato.” As her bombarded land turns white, she and her husband Martin huddle under a blanket and reminisce: the one-hundred-mile-per-hour winds; the eleven-inch rainfall (“that broccoli turned out gorgeous”); the hail disaster of 1977. The romance of farming washed away a long time ago, but the love? Never. In telling her story of working the land, coaxing good food from the fertile soil, Atina Diffley reminds us of an ultimate truth: we live in relationships—with the earth, plants and animals, families and communities.A memoir of making these essential relationships work in the face of challenges as natural as weather and as unnatural as corporate politics, her book is a firsthand history of getting in at the “ground level” of organic farming. One of the first certified organic produce farms in the Midwest, the Diffleys’ Gardens of Eagan helped to usher in a new kind of green revolution in the heart of America’s farmland, supplying their roadside stand and a growing number of local food co-ops. This is a story of a world transformed—and reclaimed—one square acre at a time.And yet, after surviving punishing storms and the devastating loss of fifth-generation Diffley family land to suburban development, the Diffleys faced the ultimate challenge: the threat of eminent domain for a crude oil pipeline proposed by one of the largest privately owned companies in the world, notorious polluters Koch Industries. As Atina Diffley tells her David-versus-Goliath tale, she gives readers everything from expert instruction in organic farming to an entrepreneur’s manual on how to grow a business to a legal thriller about battling corporate arrogance to a love story about a single mother falling for a good, big-hearted man.

Petrochemical America


Richard Misrach - 2012
    Their joint effort depicts and unpacks the complex cultural, physical, and economic ecologies along 150 miles of the Mississippi River from Baton Rouge to New Orleans, an area of intense chemical production that first garnered public attention as “Cancer Alley” when unusual occurrences of cancer were discovered in the region.This collaboration has resulted in an unprecedented, multilayered document presenting a unique narrative of visual information. Petrochemical America offers in-depth analysis of the causes of decades of environmental abuse along the largest river system in North America. Even more critically, the project offers an extensively researched guidebook to the way in which the petrochemical industry has permeated every facet of contemporary life. What is revealed over the course of the book is that Cancer Alley—although complicated by its own regional histories and particularities—may well be an apt metaphor for the global impact of petrochemicals on the human landscape as a whole.

The Hockey Stick and the Climate Wars: Dispatches from the Front Lines


Michael E. Mann - 2012
    Mann and his colleagues, demonstrating that global temperatures have risen in conjunction with the increase in industrialization and the use of fossil fuels. Here was an easy-to-understand graph that, in a glance, posed a threat to major corporate energy interests and those who do their political bidding. The stakes were simply too high to ignore the Hockey Stick--and so began a relentless attack on a body of science and on the investigators whose work formed its scientific basis.The Hockey Stick achieved prominence in a 2001 UN report on climate change and quickly became a central icon in the "climate wars." The real issue has never been the graph's data but rather its implied threat to those who oppose governmental regulation and other restraints to protect the environment and planet. Mann, lead author of the original paper in which the Hockey Stick first appeared, shares the story of the science and politics behind this controversy. He reveals key figures in the oil and energy industries and the media frontgroups who do their bidding in sometimes slick, sometimes bare-knuckled ways. Mann concludes with the real story of the 2009 "Climategate" scandal, in which climate scientists' emails were hacked. This is essential reading for all who care about our planet's health and our own well-being.

Longleaf, Far as the Eye Can See: A New Vision of North America's Richest Forest


Bill Finch - 2012
    These grand old-growth pines were the alpha tree of the largest forest ecosystem in North America and have come to define the southern forest. But logging, suppression of fire, destruction by landowners, and a complex web of other factors reduced those forests so that longleaf is now found only on 3 million acres. Fortunately, the stately tree is enjoying a resurgence of interest, and longleaf forests are once again spreading across the South. Blending a compelling narrative by writers Bill Finch, Rhett Johnson, and John C. Hall with Beth Maynor Young's breathtaking photography, Longleaf, Far as the Eye Can See invites readers to experience the astounding beauty and significance of the majestic longleaf ecosystem. The authors explore the interactions of longleaf with other species, the development of longleaf forests prior to human contact, and the influence of the longleaf on southern culture, as well as ongoing efforts to restore these forests. Part natural history, part conservation advocacy, and part cultural exploration, this book highlights the special nature of longleaf forests and proposes ways to conserve and expand them.

Altered Genes, Twisted Truth: How the Venture to Genetically Engineer Our Food Has Subverted Science, Corrupted Government, and Systematically Deceived the Public


Steven M. Druker - 2012
    It tells the fascinating and frequently astounding story of how the massive enterprise to restructure the genetic core of the world's food supply came into being, how it advanced by consistently violating the protocols of science, and how for more than three decades, hundreds of eminent biologists and esteemed institutions have systematically contorted the truth in order to conceal the unique risks of its products-and get them onto our dinner plates.Altered Genes, Twisted Truth provides a graphic account of how this elaborate fraud was crafted and how it not only deceived the general public, but Bill Clinton, Bill Gates, Barack Obama and a host of other astute and influential individuals as well. The book also exposes how the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) was induced to become a key accomplice--and how it has broken the law and repeatedly lied in order to usher genetically engineered foods onto the market without the safety testing that's required by federal statute. As a result, for fifteen years America's families have been regularly ingesting a group of novel products that the FDA's own scientific staff had previously determined to be unduly hazardous to human health.By the time this gripping story comes to a close, it will be clear that the degradation of science it documents has not only been unsavory but unprecedented--and that in no other instance have so many scientists so seriously subverted the standards they were trained to uphold, misled so many people, and imposed such magnitude of risk on both human health and the health of the environment.

The Responsible Company: What We've Learned from Patagonia's First 40 Years


Yvon Chouinard - 2012
    Patagonia, named by Fortune in 2007 as the coolest company on the planet, has earned a reputation as much for its ground-breaking environmental and social practices as for the quality of its clothes. In this exceptionally frank account, Chouinard and Stanley recount how the company and its culture gained the confidence, by step and misstep, to make its work progressively more responsible, and to ultimately share its discoveries with companies as large as Wal-Mart or as small as the corner bakery. In plain, compelling prose, the authors describe the current impact of manufacturing and commerce on the planet’s natural systems and human communities, and how that impact now forces business to change its ways. The Responsible Company shows companies how to reduce the harm they cause, improve the quality of their business, and provide the kind of meaningful work everyone seeks. It concludes with specific, practical steps every business can undertake, as well as advice on what to do, in what order. This is the first book to show companies how to thread their way through economic sea change and slow the drift toward ecological bankruptcy. Its advice is simple but powerful: reduce your environmental footprint (and its skyrocketing cost), make legitimate products that last, reclaim deep knowledge of your business and its supply chain to make the most of opportunities in the years to come, and earn the trust you’ll need by treating your workers, customers and communities with respect.

Mystery Teachings from the Living Earth: An Introduction to Spiritual Ecology


John Michael Greer - 2012
    In Mystery Teachings from the Living Earth, ecologist and Druid initiate John Michael Greer offers an introduction to the core teachings of the mysteries through the mirror of the natural world.Using examples from nature as a touchstone, Greer takes readers on a journey into the seven laws of the mystery traditions: the Law of Wholenessthe Law of Flowthe Law of Balancethe Law of Limitsthe Law of Cause and Effectthe Law of Planesthe Law of EvolutionGreer explains each law, offering meditation, an affirmation, and a theme for reflection, to show how the seven laws can bring meaning and power into our everyday lives.Mystery Teachings from the Living Earth reveals one of the great secrets of the mysteries--that the laws of nature are also the laws of spirit.

Desert or Paradise: Renaturing Endangered Landscapes, Integrating Diversified Aquaculture, and Creating Biotopes in Urban Spaces


Sepp Holzer - 2012
    His farm is an intricate network of terraces, raised beds, ponds, and waterways, well covered with productive fruit trees and other vegetation, in dramatic contrast to his neighbors' spruce monocultures. Fans of Sepp Holzer have come from all over the world to see the productivity of his farm, a veritable permaculture paradise. His first book, "Sepp Holzer's Permaculture," offers a detailed guide to what Holzer has achieved on his farm. Many readers might have wondered-but how can we achieve this on a global scale? Luckily, his newest book, "Desert or Paradise," examines Holzer's core philosophy for increasing food production, earth health, and reconnecting mankind with nature, applied to reforestation and water conservation across the world.Through years of consultation with other countries, Holzer has developed a core philosophy for reconnecting mankind with nature even in arid or otherwise "lost-cause" regions. He details a process he calls ""Grundierung,"" a term from painting meaning "base coat," which goes into great detail the importance of water, and "Desert or Paradise" offers his concept and guide to construction of large water reservoirs in arid, rainfall-dependent regions with examples from Greece, Turkey, Spain, and Portugal. Holzer describes the ecological and economic benefits of these changes, as well as the use of a variety of plant and animal species for further integration and regeneration of the surrounding areas, including reasons for reforestation and the cause and use of forest fires.Holzer also outlines his ten points of sustainable self-reliance and how these methods can help feed the world, such as the need to regulate the water budget, eliminate factory livestock farming, bring more fallow or unused areas into production, enlarge crop areas by using terracing and Holzer-style raised beds, regionalize instead of globalize, fight for land reform and engage in community building, go back to the ancient farming wisdom, and change the educational system. Also included are Holzer's ideas on beekeeping, humane slaughtering, nature spirits, the loss of roots in our society in general, and in politics especially.

Desert or Paradise


Sepp Holzer - 2012
    In Desert or Paradise he inspires us to look beyond previously tried, tired and failed ‘solutions’ to drought by following his catalogue of successes, furnishing each case study with photographs, illustrations and anecdotes.These restored or newly-constructed lakes not only reaquify the surrounding landscape to turn back the tide of encroaching desertification, but also support abundant edible landscapes of orchards and crops planted along the banks, and provide freshwater mixed aquacultures. Desert or Paradise explains why natural water management is at the centre of any earth restoration.Injected with Sepp’s unique style and opinions, Desert or Paradise gives hope to those who see an apparently barren landscape as a failure from which there is no return. Sepp helps us move beyond conventional methods that trap us in a cycle of dependence. He offers a wealth of information for the gardener, smallholder and alternative farmer, yet the book’s greatest value is in the attitudes he teaches. He reveals the thinking processes based on principles found in nature that create his productive systems. These can be applied anywhere.Learn…how to design water retention areas that produce ‘living’ waterhow to prevent and reverse desertificationhow to prevent floods and soil erosionhow to build nature-inspired dams…and much more!

Desert or Paradise: Restoring Endangered Landscapes Using Water Management, Including Lake and Pond Construction


Sepp Holzer - 2012
    In Desert or Paradise, Holzer applies his core philosophy for increasing food production, earth health, reconnecting mankind with nature, and reforestation and water conservation across the world. He urges us to look beyond failed “solutions” to drought by learning from his lengthy catalog of successes in arid, rainfall-dependent regions such as Greece, Turkey, Spain, and Portugal.Holzer offers a wealth of information for the gardener, homesteader, permaculture designer, and sustainable farmer, yet the book’s greatest value is in the attitudes it teaches and in demonstrating that the simple principles found in nature used to create Holzer’s productive systems can be applied anywhere.Holzer also outlines his ten points of sustainable self-reliance and how these methods can help feed the world, such as the need to: Regulate water usage; Eliminate factory livestock farming; Bring more fallow or unused land into production; Enlarge crop areas by using terracing and Holzer-style raised beds; Engage in community building; and much more.Expressed with Holzer’s unique style and opinions, Desert or Paradise gives hope to those who see an apparently barren landscape as a failure from which there is no return, and helps us move beyond conventional methods that trap us in a cycle of dependence.

The Gentle Chef Cookbook: Vegan Cuisine for the Ethical Gourmet


Skye Michael Conroy - 2012
    Chapter 1 offers detailed, step-by-step instructions for creating a variety of seitan products, including moist and tender roasts, sandwich deli slices, sausages, satays (shish kabob), ribz, meatballs and so much more. Seitan (say-tan) or wheat meat, is an amazingly versatile, protein-rich meat alternative made from wheat gluten. Chapter 2 addresses the basics and preparation of the soy-based meat replacements: TVP (textured vegetable protein), tofu and tempeh. Chapter 3 offers detailed, step-by-step instructions for creating a variety of non-dairy foods including vegan butter, heavy cream, sour cream, whipped cream and an assortment of vegan cheeses. Chapters 4 through 10 offer detailed, step-by-step instructions for creating hearty breakfast and brunch dishes; appetizers, dips and spreads; sandwich fillings; American and international dinner entrees and accompaniments; soups, broths and stews; salads and dressings (including the best egg-free mayonnaise); sauces and gravies; and scrumptious vegan desserts. Please note that the cookbook is TEXT ONLY. As a companion reference guide, TheGentleChef.com website offers a full-color photo gallery of many of the recipes in the cookbook, as well as a list of Vegan Resources and a discussion of Veganism, Ethics and Diet. An illustrated digital copy of the cookbook with full-color photos is also available through the website.

The Journey Home


Frann Preston-Gannon - 2012
    Join him on his adventures across the seas and discover the many friends he meets along the way. This beautifully illustrated story has a powerful message of conservation and is full of things for parents and children to talk about. Frann was the winner of an amazing Sendak Fellowship and spent a month living with the great Maurice Sendak himself at his home in Connecticut, USA. She worked on The Journey Home during her stay.

Continental Divide: Wildlife, People, and the Border Wall


Krista Schlyer - 2012
    By now, broad segments of the population have heard widely varying opinions about the wall’s effect on illegal immigration, international politics, and the drug war.But what about the wall’s effect on the Sonoran pronghorn antelope herds and the kit fox? On the Mexican gray wolf, the ocelot, the jaguar, and the bighorn sheep? In unforgettable images and evocative text, Continental Divide: Wildlife, People, and the Border Wall helps readers understand all that is at stake.As Krista Schlyer explains,  the remoteness of this region from most US citizens’ lives, coupled with the news media’s focus on illegal immigration and drug violence, has left many with an incomplete picture. As she reminds us, this largely isolated natural area, stretching from the Pacific Ocean to the Gulf of Mexico, hosts a number of rare ecosystems: Arizona’s last free-flowing river, the San Pedro; the grasslands of New Mexico, some of the last undeveloped prairies on the continent; the single most diverse birding area in the US, located along the lower Rio Grande River in Texas; and habitat and migration corridors for some of both nations’ most imperiled species.?In documenting the changes to the ecosystems and human communities along the border while the wall was being built, Schlyer realized that the impacts of immigration policy on wildlife, on landowners, and on border towns were not fully understood by either policy makers or the general public. The wall not only has disrupted the ancestral routes of wildlife; it has also rerouted human traffic through the most pristine and sensitive of wildlands, causing additional destruction, conflict, and death—without solving the original problem.

Ecoholic Body: Your Ultimate Earth-Friendly Guide to Living Healthy and Looking Good


Adria Vasil - 2012
    . . care, that is. Her latest eco bible delivers the lowdown on virtually every product that comes into contact with our bodies. From the pollutants clogging your sinus meds all the way to the outlaw toxins leaching from your sandals, ECOHOLIC BODY has you covered, head to toe. Never shy to blow the whistle, Adria calls out supplement and shampoo makers that exaggerate their green cred. This witty, indispensable guide will arm you with the knowledge you need to keep you and your family healthy, happy and green, all while detoxing the planet. Look your best- “Mean 15” ingredients to avoid- Skin care reviews for moisturizers, sunscreen, anti-aging and acne- Fresh ways to fight funk from bad breath to B.O.- Toxin-free hair care that works- The lowdown on mineral makeup, natural cosmetics, tattoos and more Feel your best- Nature’s best remedies and superfoods that are good for the planet and your body- Greening your health care- Pollution-triggered health problems- Ecoholic weight loss plan- Greener birth control, local sex toys and more Dress your best- All the latest eco fashions, including activewear, maternity clothes, lingerie, menswear, footwear, jewellery, wedding dresses and more Give your kids nature’s best- Toxin-free bum balms, shampoos, bubble bath, oils and powders- Green diaper reviews- The scoop on kids’ PJs, clothes, charms And more- Exhaustive testing guides for everything from natural deodorant to herbal shampoos- Made-in-Canada products and services- Coast-to-coast store directory- DIY recipes for homemade body care- Money-saving tips in every chapter

Earth Works: Selected Essays


Scott Russell Sanders - 2012
    In 30 of his finest essays--nine never before collected--Sanders examines his Midwestern background, his father's drinking, his opposition to war, his literary inheritance, and his feeling for wildness. He also tackles such vital issues as the disruption of Earth's climate, the impact of technology, the mystique of money, the ideology of consumerism, and the meaning of sustainability. Throughout, he asks perennial questions: What is a good life? How do family and culture shape a person's character? How should we treat one another and the Earth? What is our role in the cosmos? Readers and writers alike will find wisdom and inspiration in Sanders's luminous and thought-provoking prose.

People and Permaculture


Looby Macnamara - 2012
    This book provides a framework to help each of us improve our ability to care for ourselves, our friends, families and for the Earth. It is also a clear guide for those who may be new to permaculture, who may not even have a garden, but who wish to be involved in making changes to their lives and living more creative, low carbon lives. People & Permaculture transforms the context of permaculture making it relevant to everyone.Including over 50 practical activities, People & Permaculture empowers readers with tried and tested tools to initiate positive change in their lives. It is a hands-on yet powerful guide to creating a sustainable world.

Wildlife Heroes: 40 Leading Conservationists and the Animals They Are Committed to Saving


Julie Scardina - 2012
    Wong (sun bear), Steve Galster (wildlife trade), and Wangari Maathai (habitat loss). Since we all should have an interest in conservation, there is a chapter providing information on ways people can get involved and make a difference. Chapter introductions are by author Kuki Gallmann, actor Ted Danson, actress Stefanie Powers, Congressman Jay Inslee, and TV personality Jack Hanna.

The Militarization of Indian Country


Winona LaDuke - 2012
    Geronimo descendant Harlyn Geronimo explained, “Obviously to equate Geronimo with Osama bin Laden is an unpardonable slander of Native America and its most famous leader.” The Militarization of Indian Country illuminates the historical context of these negative stereotypes, the long political and economic relationship between the military and Native America, and the environmental and social consequences. This book addresses the impact that the U.S. military has had on Native peoples, lands, and cultures. From the use of Native names to the outright poisoning of Native peoples for testing, the U.S. military’s exploitation of Indian country is unparalleled and ongoing.

Wild Hope: On the Front Lines of Conservation Success


Andrew Balmford - 2012
    The collapse of fisheries. Unprecedented levels of species extinction. Faced with the plethora of gloom-and-doom headlines about the natural world, we might think that environmental disaster is inevitable. But is there any good news about the environment? Yes, there is, answers Andrew Balmford in Wild Hope, and he offers several powerful stories of successful conservation to prove it. This tragedy is still avoidable, and there are many reasons for hope if we find inspiration in stories of effective environmental recovery. Wild Hope is organized geographically, with each chapter taking readers to extraordinary places to meet conservation’s heroes and foot soldiers—and to discover the new ideas they are generating about how to make conservation work on our hungry and crowded planet. The journey starts in the floodplains of Assam, where dedicated rangers and exceptionally tolerant villagers have together helped bring Indian rhinos back from the brink of extinction. In the pine forests of the Carolinas, we learn why plantation owners came to resent rare woodpeckers—and what persuaded them to change their minds. In South Africa, Balmford investigates how invading alien plants have been drinking the country dry, and how the Southern Hemisphere’s biggest conservation program is now simultaneously restoring the rivers, saving species, and creating tens of thousands of jobs. The conservation problems Balmford encounters are as diverse as the people and their actions, but together they offer common themes and specific lessons on how to win the battle of conservation—and the one essential ingredient, Balmford shows, is most definitely hope. Wild Hope, though optimistic, is a clear-eyed view of the difficulties and challenges of conservation. Balmford is fully aware of failed conservation efforts and systematic flaws that make conservation difficult, but he offers here innovative solutions and powerful stories of citizens, governments, and corporations coming together to implement them. A global tour of people and programs working for the planet, Wild Hope is an emboldening green journey.

The Neglected Sun: Why the Sun Precludes Climate Catastrophe


Fritz Vahrenholt - 2012
    In this momentous book – first published in German as Die kalte Sonne in 2012 – Professor Fritz Vahrenholt and Dr. Sebastian Lüning demonstrate that the critical cause of global temperature change has been, and continues to be, the sun’s activity. Vahrenholt and Lüning reveal that four concurrent solar cycles master Earth’s temperature – a climate reality upon which man’s carbon emissions bear little significance. The sun’s present cooling phase, precisely monitored in this work, renders impossible the catastrophic prospects put forward by the United Nations’ Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change and the alarmist agenda dominant in contemporary Western politics.

Conifer Country


Michael Edward Kauffmann - 2012
    Educator, plant explorer, and author Michael Kauffmann introduces readers to the magic of this little known botanical wonderland through:-The most accurate range maps ever created for conifers in northwest California and southwest Oregon-Lively species descriptions-Color plates to assist in identifying 35 conifers-29 hike descriptions with maps to explore the conifer diversity-Stunning photos from across the Klamath Mountain region

Practicing Law in the Sharing Economy: Helping People Build Cooperatives, Social Enterprise, and Local Sustainable Economies


Janelle Orsi - 2012
    But as the world's economic and ecological meltdowns demand that we redesign our livelihoods, our enterprises, our communities, our organizations, our food system, our housing, and much more, transactional lawyers are needed, en masse, to aid in an epic reinvention of our economic system.This reinvention is referred to by many names--the "sharing economy," the "grassroots economy," the "new economy"--and involves new and different ways of consuming, producing, and transacting with each other. This new economy facilitates community ownership, localized production, sharing, cooperation, small scale enterprise, and the regeneration of economic and natural abundance. Sharing economy lawyers make the exploding numbers of social enterprises, cooperatives, urban farms, cohousing communities, time banks, local currencies, and the vast array of unique organizations arising from the sharing economy possible and legal.There are nine primary areas of work that sharing economy lawyers should become familiar with, andeach is addressed in a chapter of Practicing Law in the Sharing Economy:--Designing and Drafting Agreements--Choosing, Forming, and Structuring Entities--Advising on the Legalities and Taxation of Exchange--Navigating Securities Regulations--Navigating Employment Regulations--Navigating Regulations on Production and Commerce--Managing Relationships with and Use of Land--Managing Intellectual Property--Managing RiskThe work of lawyers helping to build the sharing economy will often be challenging, but will always be interesting and demand creativity. Perhaps best of all, these lawyers will contribute greatly to the creation of a world in which innumerable people have now decided they want to live.

Eco-Tyranny: How the Left's Green Agenda will Dismantle America


Brian Sussman - 2012
    In order to de-develop the United States, the Left is using phony environmental crises to demonize capitalism and liberty, and purposefully withhold America's vast natural resources-and the Obama Administration is piloting the plan.Eco-Tyranny , by best-selling author Brian Sussman, presents a rational strategy to responsibly harvest our nation's vast resources in order to fulfill the future needs of a rapidly growing population.

The World of the Salt Marsh: Appreciating and Protecting the Tidal Marshes of the Southeastern Atlantic Coast


Charles Seabrook - 2012
    The meadows provide vital nurseries for 80 percent of the seafood species, including oysters, crabs, shrimp, and a variety of finfish, and they are invaluable for storm protection, erosion prevention, and pollution filtration.Seabrook is also concerned with the plight of the people who make their living from the coast’s bounty and who carry on its unique culture. Among them are Charlie Phillips, a fishmonger whose livelihood is threatened by development in McIntosh County, Georgia, and Vera Manigault of Mount Pleasant, South Carolina, a basket maker of Gullah-Geechee descent, who says that the sweetgrass needed to make her culturally significant wares is becoming scarcer.For all of the biodiversity and cultural history of the salt marshes, many still view them as vast wastelands to be drained, diked, or “improved” for development into highways and subdivisions. If people can better understand and appreciate these ecosystems, Seabrook contends, they are more likely to join the growing chorus of scientists, conservationists, fishermen, and coastal visitors and residents calling for protection of these truly amazing places.

Carbon Zero: Imagining Cities That Can Save The Planet


Alex Steffen - 2012
    

E.O. Wilson's Life on Earth - An Introduction


Gael McGill - 2012
    The series of seven books, in addition to this introduction, is available for free from iTunes and was developed by the E.O. WIlson Biodiversity Foundation. From the official webpage:To create Life on Earth, the E.O. Wilson Biodiversity Foundation brought together a team consisting of educators, writers, multimedia artists, 3D animators trained in science and cinema, and textbook professionals, led by naturalist Edward O. Wilson. The editorial team, headed by Morgan Ryan, worked in full partnership with the Boston-based scientific graphics company Digizyme, Inc, headed by Gaël McGill, PhD, with the goal of creating a cultural landmark—a portal that will introduce students to the grandest story there is, the story of life on Earth, from molecules to ecosystems, from the origin of life to the modern awareness that we control the environment we live in.

The World's Rarest Birds


Erik Hirschfeld - 2012
    Today, 571 bird species are classified as critically endangered or endangered, and a further four now exist only in captivity. This landmark book features stunning photographs of 500 of these species--the results of a prestigious international photographic competition organized specifically for this book. It also showcases paintings by acclaimed wildlife artist Tomasz Cofta of the 75 species for which no photos are known to exist.The World's Rarest Birds has introductory chapters that explain the threats to birds, the ways threat categories are applied, and the distinction between threat and rarity. The book is divided into seven regional sections--Europe and the Middle East; Africa and Madagascar; Asia; Australasia; Oceanic Islands; North America, Central America, and the Caribbean; and South America. Each section includes an illustrated directory to the bird species under threat there, and gives a concise description of distribution, status, population, key threats, and conservation needs. This one-of-a-kind book also provides coverage of 62 data-deficient species.

Fighting for Birds: 25 Years in Nature Conservation


Mark Avery - 2012
    A personal, philosophical and political history of 25 years of bird conservation, this book provides an instructive and amusing read for all those who would like a glimpse into the birds and wildlife conservation world - what the issues are, what must be done, how it can be done, and the challenges, highs and lows involved.

Save the Humans


Rob Stewart - 2012
    His passion for all living things, including Satan, his 7-foot-long, 80-pound pet water monitor, has led him around the world, as a university student studying zoology in Kenya, as a wildlife photographer in Madagascar and Southeast Asia, and ultimately as a documentary filmmaker in the Pacific shooting his innovative and award-winning documentary Sharkwater. Risking arrest and mafia reprisal in Costa Rica, nearly losing a leg to flesh-eating disease in Panama and getting lost at sea in the remote Galapagos Islands, Stewart is living proof that the best way to create change in the world is to dive in over your head. His documentary sparked shark fin bans around the world, but his story doesn’t end with saving sharks. Stewart has set his sights on a slightly bigger goal—saving the human species. He has criss-crossed the globe to meet with the visionaries, entrepreneurs, scientists and children working to solve our environmental crises, and his message is clear: the revolution to save humanity has started and the only thing missing is you!

The Whole Story of Climate: What Science Reveals About the Nature of Endless Change


E. Kirsten Peters - 2012
    What emerges is a much more complex and nuanced picture than is usually presented. For more information - and a book club guide - go to www.climatewholestory.com

All the Dirt: Reflections on Organic Farming


Rachel Fisher - 2012
    Filled with beautiful photographs and covering a wide variety of topics, from agrofuels and food sovereignty to practical tips about specific tools, All the Dirt is the must-read how-to book about small-scale organic farming. But beyond the practical applications, it is also the inspiring story of three friends who followed their dreams and became successful business partners.Authors Rachel Fisher, Heather Stretch, and Robin Tunnicliffe, co-owners of Saanich Organics, a farmer-run local food distributor, share entertaining stories of three farmers' lives, while also providing practical information about how to start a farm. They relate their personal and collective experiences as women, mothers, and farmers through anecdotes, and discuss the compelling reasons why Canada needs more organic farmers.All the Dirt proves that there is no one right way to start a farm and no single solution to any problem. But that by working together, farmers can create a resilient agriculture that is vibrant and fun, as well as economically viable.Rachel, Heather, and Robin have co-owned Saanich Organics since 2002. The business has been featured in numerous publications, including the Times Colonist, West Jet’s Up! magazine, EAT Magazine, and The Province. It has also been featured in Island on the Edge (a documentary film), as well as on CBC radio. By working co-operatively to grow and distribute top quality produce, the business has earned the respect of the farming community, the restaurant community, organic consumers, and activists. Visit Saanich Organics online at www.saanichorganics.com.

Arctic Voices: Resistance at the Tipping Point


Subhankar Banerjee - 2012
    The climate changes that are coming have hit soon and hard in the Arctic, and their consequences may be starkest there."–Ian Frazier,  The New York Review of Books A pristine environment of ecological richness and biodiversity. Home to generations of indigenous people for thousands of years. The location of vast quantities of oil, natural gas and coal. Largely uninhabited and long at the margins of global affairs, in the last decade Arctic Alaska has quickly become the most contested land in recent US history. World-renowned photographer, writer, and activist Subhankar Banerjee brings together first-person narratives from more than thirty prominent activists, writers, and researchers who address issues of climate change, resource war, and human rights with stunning urgency and groundbreaking research. From Gwich'in activist Sarah James's impassioned appeal, "We Are the Ones Who Have Everything to Lose," during the UN Climate Conference in Copenhagen in 2009 to an original piece by acclaimed historian Dan O'Neill about his recent trips to the Yukon Flats fish camps, Arctic Voices is a window into a remarkable region.Other contributors include Seth Kantner, Velma Wallis, Nick Jans, Debbie Miller, Andri Snaer Magnason, George Schaller, George Archibald, Cindy Shogan, and Peter Matthiessen.From the Trade Paperback edition.

The Goldilocks Planet: The 4 Billion Year Story of Earth's Climate


Jan Zalasiewicz - 2012
    But as Jan Zalasiewicz and Mark Williams reveal in The Goldilocks Planet, the climatic changes we are experiencing today hardly compare to the changes the Earth has seen over the last 4.5 billion years.Indeed, the vast history that the authors relate here is dramatic and often abrupt--with massive changes in global and regional climate, from bitterly cold to sweltering hot, from arid to humid. They introduce us to the Cryogenian period, the days of Snowball Earth seven hundred million years ago, when ice spread to cover the world, then melted abruptly amid such dramatic climatic turbulence that hurricanes raged across the Earth. We read about the Carboniferous, with tropical jungles at the equator (where Pennsylvania is now) and the Cretaceous Period, when the polar regions saw not ice but dense conifer forests of cypress and redwood, with gingkos and ferns. The authors also show how this history can be read from clues preserved in the Earth's strata. The evidence is abundant, though always incomplete--and often baffling, puzzling, infuriating, tantalizing, seemingly contradictory. Geologists, though, are becoming ever more ingenious at deciphering this evidence, and the story of the Earth's climate is now being reconstructed in ever-greater detail--maybe even providing us with clues to the future of contemporary climate change.And through all of this, the authors conclude, the Earth has remained perfectly habitable--in stark contrast to its planetary neighbors. Not too hot, not too cold; not too dry, not too wet--"the Goldilocks planet." [Description taken from the Oxford University Press's web site.]

The Wisdom of John Muir: 100+ Selections from the Letters, Journals, and Essays of the Great Naturalist


Anne Rowthorn - 2012
    The fact that it is neither, and yet it is both, distinguishes this book from the many extant books on John Muir. Building on her lifelong passion for the work and philosophy of John Muir, author Anne Rowthorn has created this entirely new treatment for showcasing the great naturalist's philosophy and writings. By pairing carefully selected material from various stages of Muir's life, Rowthorn's book provides a view into the experiences, places, and people that inspired and informed Muir's words and beliefs. The reader feels able to join in with Muir's own discoveries and transformations over the arc of his life. Rowthorn is careful not to overstep her role: she stands back and lets Muir's words speak for themselves.

Sailing to Jessica


Kelly Watts - 2012
    Two days after purchasing their forty-two-foot sloop, they got caught in a forty-knot gale off the coast of Cape Fear, NC. Their sails ripped; the engine overheated; the GPS broke; they suffered hypothermia and severe seasickness. And yet they persevered on their journey, discovering the playful sea lions of the Galapagos, the seductive dance of the Polynesian girls, and the primitive beat of Tuvaluan music, all while learning how to sail and repair their boat. They narrowly avoided a shark attack in Suwarrow, fled from suspected pirates off the coast of Ecuador, and hit a submerged container - the fear of all sailors - near Midway Island. What started as a search to find meaning to "life without children," only strengthened their desire to have a family. After fertility attempts failed in America and New Zealand, they unexpectedly adopted a two-month old baby in Kiribati. And so began the adventure of raising a baby on a boat in the middle of the Pacific, battling Dengue Fever and an epidemic of e-coli., almost losing their lives in a 60-knot westerly gale and navigating through the maze of international adoption paperwork. Told from Kelly's conversational point of view, "Sailing to Jessica" will inspire anyone who is searching for meaning in their life to get up and find it.

Walking Distance: Extraordinary Hikes for Ordinary People


Robert E. Manning - 2012
    But most of all, walking is a joyful celebration of life and the diverse, beautiful, and curious world in which we live.” —from the IntroductionWalking is simple, but it can also be profound. In an increasingly complex and frantic world, walking can simplify our lives. It encourages intimate contact with places and people, promotes health, and is one of the most sustainable forms of recreation. Robert and Martha Manning invite readers to explore the pleasures of long-distance walking in their inspiring new book, Walking Distance.At the heart of Walking Distance are firsthand descriptions of thirty of the world’s great long-distance hikes, spanning six continents and ranging from inn-to-inn to backpacking trips. Each entry—from Turkey’s Lycian Way to Vermont’s Long Trail—features personal anecdotes, natural and cultural history, and useful tips, including suggestions for preparing for hikes and for additional reading. Each trail narrative is richly illustrated with color photographs and maps. The WalksAlta Via 1 (Italy)C&O Canal (Maryland, U.S.)Camino de Santiago (Spain)Cape Winelands Walk (South Africa)Chilkoot Trail (Alaska, U.S. and B.C., Canada)Cinque Terre (Italy) Coast to Coast Trail (England)Colorado Trail (Colorado, U.S.)Cotswold Way (England)Great Ocean Walk (Australia)Inca Trail (Peru)John Muir Trail (California, U.S.)Kaibab Trail (Arizona, U.S.) Kalalua Trail (Hawaii, U.S.)King Ludwig’s Way (Germany)Kungsleden (Sweden)Long Trail (Vermont, U.S.)Lost Coast Trail (California, U.S.)Lycian Way (Turkey) Milford Track (New Zealand)Ocala Trail (Florida, U.S.)Overland Track (Australia)Paria River Canyon (Utah and Arizona, U.S.)South Downs Way (England)Superior Hiking Trail (Minnesota, U.S.)Tahoe Rim Trail (California and Nevada, U.S.)Tour du Mont Blanc (France, Italy, Switzerland) Walker’s Haute Route (France, Switzerland) West Coast Trail (B.C., Canada)West Highland Way (Scotland)

Thin


E.M. Mitchem - 2012
    Who is selling the latest fast antidote to our slow suicide?The next "quick fix" may be our last.Dr. Phoebe M. Mandino is happy in her meticulously well-planned life. She is content to continue her research, teach college biology, and avoid her ex-boyfriend. Things are just how she wants them when a bizarre theft threatens her career. She is determined to solve the mysterious crime and return order to her safe, logical life. Instead, she will discover a terrifying new reality in which the mind loses, the heart wins, and the American dream becomes an inescapable nightmare.***ebook is available for $4.99 at iBookstore and Barnes and Noble.***http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/thin-...

Earth-Honoring Faith: Religious Ethics in a New Key


Larry L. Rasmussen - 2012
    But precisely how to changeremains an open question.In Earth-honoring Faith, Larry Rasmussen answers that question with a dramatically new way of thinking about human society, ethics, and the ongoing health of our planet. Rejecting the modern assumption that morality applies to human society alone, Rasmussen insists that we must derive a spiritualand ecological ethic that accounts for the well-being of all creation, as well as the primal elements upon which it depends: earth, air, fire, water, and sunlight. He argues that good science, necessary as it is, will not be enough to inspire fundamental change. We must draw on religious resourcesas well to make the difficult transition from an industrial-technological age obsessed with consumption to an ecological age that restores wise stewardship of all life. Earth-honoring Faith advocates an alliance of spirituality and ecology, in which the material requirements for planetary life arereconciled with deep traditions of spirituality across religions, traditions that include mysticism, sacramentalism, prophetic practices, asceticism, and the cultivation of wisdom. It is these shared spiritual practices that can produce a chorus of world faiths to counter the consumerism, utilitarianism, alienation, oppression, and folly that have pushed us to the brink.Written with passionate commitment and deep insight, Earth-honoring Faith reminds us that we must live in the present with the knowledge that the eyes of future generations will look back at us.

100 Under 100: The Race to Save the World's Rarest Living Things


Scott Leslie - 2012
    Of these, just over 1.6 million and counting have actually been catalogued and described. One percent, or 16,306, of those species are threatened with extinction, about one-fifth of them critically. Of this group, some have vanishingly small populations in the double or single digits. A few species, including the Pinta Island giant tortoise and the Yangtze giant softshell turtle, sit squarely on the border of extinction in the wild with a population of one.In 100 Under 100, Scott Leslie tells the fascinating stories of species in far-flung places nobody ever hears about, like the northern hairy-nosed wombat, the Gorgan mountain salamander or the Irrawaddy river shark. Closer to home are the Vancouver Island marmot, the Wyoming toad and the Devil’s Hole pupfish. Leslie also tells stories of hopeful progress, as some of the rarest of the rare are back from the brink of extinction through the dedicated efforts of people around the world.

The Arcadia Project: North American Postmodern Pastoral


Joshua Corey - 2012
    The book's sections on New Transcendentalisms, Textual Ecologies, Local Powers, and the Necropastoral indicate the range of work being represented. Featuring some of the most provocative and innovative poets of the current moment, this anthology has been curated not only with an eye to an exhilarating reading experience, but to the literature and creative writing classrooms as well. An accompanying web site with a teachers' guide will make this volume especially valuable for students and teachers.

Justice, Justice Shall You Pursue: A History of New Jewish Agenda


Ezra Berkley Nepon - 2012
    NJA organized a progressive Jewish voice for every political issue of their decade: working for Middle East Peace, Central American Solidarity, Worldwide Nuclear Disarmament, Economic and Social Justice, and they had a powerful Jewish Feminist Taskforce that included work on LGBT issues and the emergence of the AIDS pandemic. New Jewish Agenda was most controversial for positions on the rights of Palestinians and the rights of Queer Jews. Jewish activists from a wide range of religious and secular communities coalesced in NJA, building power and analysis that continue to illuminate our movements today. This book includes afterwords essays by Dr. Rachel Mattson and Daniel Rosza Lang/Levitsky, an appendix of relevant NJA documents, and it features original cover art by Abigail Miller.Distributed by AK Press: http://www.akpress.org/justicejustice...

What Would Animals Say If We Asked the Right Questions?


Vinciane Despret - 2012
    She does so by exploring incredible and often funny adventures about animals and their involvements with researchers, farmers, zookeepers, handlers, and other human beings. Do animals have a sense of humor? In reading these stories it is evident that they do seem to take perverse pleasure in creating scenarios that unsettle even the greatest of experts, who in turn devise newer and riskier hypotheses that invariably lead them to conclude that animals are not nearly as dumb as previously thought.These deftly translated accounts oblige us, along the way, to engage in both ethology and philosophy. Combining serious scholarship with humor that will resonate with anyone, this book—with a foreword by noted French philosopher, anthropologist, and sociologist of science Bruno Latour—is a must not only for specialists but also for general readers, including dog owners, who will never look at their canine companions the same way again.

The Art of Being Free


Wendy McElroy - 2012
    But it is unlike any you have ever read. It deals with the current crisis in a way that no one else does. It has deep and fascinating research on all the main issues we face: the loss of security in the name of security, the state's role in strangling economic opportunity, the petty central-planning that has regimented every aspect of life, the loss of basic civil liberties. The argument is relentless, fresh, and eye opening as never before. But she goes a step further, even several steps further. She argues that your rights and freedom are too important to wait for political reform. We must take our fate into our own hands, and live free regardless of what the political elites are attempting to do to us. Can we live full, free, and prosperous lives in these times, starting now? McElroy says that we can and we must. She presents a new way of thinking about how to build civilization even when it is so under attack. In her view, the worst mistake we can make is to allow our lives to be consumed by politics and the awful realities that surround us. We must instead surround ourselves by people and things we truly love. The best way to fight back, she says, is to find and build freedom for ourselves. We must discover the art of being free. The last chapter alone has been called one of the most inspired and inspiring pleas for real-life liberty ever penned. Here we have a manual on not only what is wrong with the world but also for how to refuse to be beaten back by our overlords. Despite the subject matter, then, this is a libertarianism that is bright, upbeat, and triumphant, even in these times.

The Biology of Birds (The Modern Scholar)


John C. Kricher - 2012
    In these lectures, Professor Kricher expands on such topics as bird anatomy, the mechanics of flight, migration, reproduction, and song. The presentation demonstrates how understanding the traits, life cycle, and evolution of birds is critical for an understanding of the origins and evolution of life on earth, and why conservation plays a vital role in the environment's delicate balance.

Future Primal: How Our Wilderness Origins Show Us the Way Forward


Louis G. Herman - 2012
    Herman argues that for us to create a sustainable, fulfilling future, we need to first look back into our deepest past to recover our core humanity. Important clues for recovery can be found in the lives of traditional San Bushman hunter-gatherers of South Africa, the closest living relatives to the ancestral African population from which all humans descended. Their culture can give us a sense of what life was like during the tens of thousands of years when humans lived in wilderness, without warfare, walled cities, or slavery. Herman suggests we draw from the experience of the San and other earth-based cultures and weave their wisdom together with the scientific story of an evolving universe to help create something radically new — an earth-centered, planetary politics with the personal truth quest at its heart.

Loving this Planet: Leading Thinkers Talk About How to Make a Better World


Helen Caldicott - 2012
    Together with some of the most brilliant thinkers and inspiring advocates of our time, Caldicott--whom Meryl Streep has called "my inspiration to speak out"--scrutinizes our unsustainable dependence on nuclear energy; explores how the United States could transition to renewable energy; and raises awareness about a host of other planetary issues, from deforestation and sea-level rise to nuclear arms and the potential health effects of cell phone radiation.

Escape from Communism


Dumitru Sandru - 2012
    Commit the smallest political infraction, and the secret police will arrest you. The only ray of hope is the West, but getting out from communism is difficult. Communist countries have a “Berlin Wall” around them. It is a crime to escape by crossing the border illegally, and anyone caught is beaten and imprisoned, sometimes even shot. I was eighteen, and I was living in hell. However, I would rather have died than keep living as a communist slave. This is my story of what happened and how I reached freedom.

Green Social Work: From Environmental Crises to Environmental Justice


Lena Dominelli - 2012
    However, social workers have played a low-key role in environmental issues that increasingly impact on people's well-being, both locally and globally. This compelling new contribution confronts this topic head-on, examining environmental issues from a social work perspective. Lena Dominelli draws attention to the important voice of practitioners working on the ground in the aftermath of environmental disasters, whether these are caused by climate change, industrial accidents or human conflict. The author explores the concept of 'green social work' and its role in using environmental crises to address poverty and other forms of structural inequalities, to obtain more equitable allocations of limited natural resources and to tackle global socio-political forces that have a damaging impact upon the quality of life of poor and marginalized populations at local levels. The resolution of these matters is linked to community initiatives that social workers can engage in to ensure that the quality of life of poor people can be enhanced without costing the Earth.This important book will appeal to those in the fields of social work, social policy, sociology and human geography. It powerfully reveals how environmental issues are an integral part of social work's remit if it is to retain its currency in the modern world and emphasize its relevance to the social issues that societies have to resolve in the twenty-first century.

Wanted Dead or Alive


Dawn Nelson - 2012
    Auden Steele can ride, rope, and shoot with the best of them, but one thing she can’t do is set back time—if she could, she would. A terrible accident two years earlier left her a widow after only two weeks of marriage.She has dedicated herself to be a widow with no hope of ever marrying again until a cougar attack sends one of the most attractive and interesting men she has ever met into her life.Lance Wheeler is a game warden. He loves the animals and the solitude of his job but the attack in Washington has his department sending him out as a cougar specialist.A two day drive, a wanted poster, and a fist fight finds him face to face with one of the most alluring women he has ever met. But he soon learns she is hardened by life and death and they are after the same thing out on the range—him with a tranquilizer gun and her with a real one.A dangerous hunt and a terrible accident places them in each other’s arms; however, they still have one problem, Lance needs the cougar alive and Auden wants him dead. Can they come to an agreement before one of them does something that can’t be undone?

Life on the Brink: Environmentalists Confront Overpopulation


Philip Cafaro - 2012
    Some of the leading voices in the American environmental movement restate the case that population growth is a major force behind many of our most serious ecological problems, including global climate change, habitat loss and species extinctions, air and water pollution, and food and water scarcity. As we surpass seven billion world inhabitants, contributors argue that ending population growth worldwide and in the United States is a moral imperative that deserves renewed commitment.Hailing from a range of disciplines and offering varied perspectives, these essays hold in common a commitment to sharing resources with other species and a willingness to consider what will be necessary to do so. In defense of nature and of a vibrant human future, contributors confront hard issues regarding contraception, abortion, immigration, and limits to growth that many environmentalists have become too timid or politically correct to address in recent years.Ending population growth will not happen easily. Creating genuinely sustainable societies requires major change to economic systems and ethical values coupled with clear thinking and hard work. Life on the Brink is an invitation to join the discussion about the great work of building a better future.Contributors: Albert Bartlett, Joseph Bish, Lester Brown, Tom Butler, Philip Cafaro, Martha Campbell, William R. Catton Jr., Eileen Crist, Anne Ehrlich, Paul Ehrlich, Robert Engelman, Dave Foreman, Amy Gulick, Ronnie Hawkins, Leon Kolankiewicz, Richard Lamm, Jeffrey McKee, Stephanie Mills, Roderick Nash, Tim Palmer, Charmayne Palomba, William Ryerson, Winthrop Staples III, Captain Paul Watson, Don Weeden, George Wuerthner.

Canada’s Raincoast at Risk: Art for an Oil-Free Coast


Andrew Nikiforuk - 2012
    The resulting artworks, blended with essays by experts in their field, and poetry, portray the splendour of the region. The book includes a foreword by David Suzuki.The artists’ goal is to bring attention to the dramatic beauty and ecological diversity of the coastal wilderness that will be at risk if tankers are permitted to ship tar-sands oil through narrow and dangerous channels.They hope to raise awareness of the coast’s wild and diverse marine and terrestrial environment, and support for its conservation.

Should Christians Be Environmentalists?


Dan Story - 2012
    Looking at three dimensions of environmentalism as a movement, a Bible-based theology of nature, and the role the church has in environmental ethics, Dan Story examines each through a theological, apologetic, and practical lens.

Sustainable Materials - With Both Eyes Open


Julian M. Allwood - 2012
    Beginning with an all-encompassing examination of the uses of the five most important materials—steel, aluminum, cement, plastic, and paper—this exploration delves into the entire lifecycle of these materials, from smelting and goods manufacture to final recycling. Through evidence drawn from this analysis and real-world commercial enterprises, the study submits creative solutions for achieving manufacturing efficiencies and the same functionality or services using less material, and identifies potential economic outcomes from these scenarios.

Wildflowers of the Mountain West


Richard M. Anderson - 2012
    Wildflowers of the Mountain West is a useful field guide that makes flower identification easy for the general outdoor enthusiast.Covering New Mexico, Colorado, Wyoming, Idaho, Utah, Nevada and Oregon, this book is perfect for the enthusiasts who has little botanical knowledge but would like to know more about the wildflowers they are seeing. Organized by flower color for easy reference, plant records include the common and scientific names, a description of typical characteristics, habitat information and distribution maps, look-alike species, color photographs, and informative commentary.In addition, the book provides a useful introduction to the Mountain West region, along with line drawings to illustrate basic flower parts, shapes, and arrangements; a glossary of common botanical terms; a quick search key; and an index.An ideal companion for hiking, backpacking, or biking, it includes stunning full color photographs that help make visual confirmation of flower type simple and straightforward.

Run to Failure: BP and the Making of the Deepwater Horizon Disaster


Abrahm Lustgarten - 2012
    Along came a new CEO of vision and vast ambition, John Browne, who pulled off one of the greatest corporate turnarounds in history.BP bought one company after another and then relentlessly fired employees and cut costs. It skipped safety procedures, pumped toxic chemicals back into the ground, and let equipment languish, even while Browne claimed a new era of environmentally sustainable business as his own. For a while the strategy worked, making BP one of the most profitable corporations in the world. Then it all began to unravel, in felony convictions for environmental crimes and in one deadly accident after another. Employees and regulators warned that BP’s problems, unfixed, were spinning out of control, that another disaster—bigger and deadlier—was inevitable. Nobody was listening.Having reported on business and the energy industry for nearly a decade, Abrahm Lustgarten uses interviews with key executives, former government investigators, and whistle-blowers along with his exclusive access to BP’s internal documents and emails to weave a spellbinding investigative narrative of hubris and greed well before the gulf oil spill.

The Right to Water: Politics, Governance and Social Struggles


Farhana Sultana - 2012
    Yet how such universal calls for a right to water are understood, negotiated, experienced and struggled over remain key challenges. The Right to Water elucidates how universal calls for rights articulate with local historical geographical contexts, governance, politics and social struggles, thereby highlighting the challenges and the possibilities that exist. Bringing together a unique range of academics, policy-makers and activists, the book analyzes how struggles for the right to water have attempted to translate moral arguments over access to safe water into workable claims. This book is an intervention at a crucial moment into the shape and future direction of struggles for the right to water in a range of political, geographic and socio-economics contexts, seeking to be pro-active in defining what this struggle could mean and how it might be taken forward in a far broader transformative politics.The Right to Water engages with a range of approaches that focus on philosophical, legal and governance perspectives before seeking to apply these more abstract arguments to an array of concrete struggles and case studies. In so doing, the book builds on empirical examples from Africa, Asia, Oceania, Latin America, the Middle East, North America and the European Union.

Nature


Jeffrey Kastner - 2012
    With the dislocation of disciplinary boundaries in visual culture, art that is engaged with nature has also forged connections with a new range of scientific, historical, and philosophical ideas. Developing technologies make our interventions into natural systems both increasingly refined and profound. Advances in biological and telecommunication technology continually modify the way we present ourselves. So too are artistic representations of nature (human and otherwise) being transformed.This anthology addresses these issues by considering how the rise of transdisciplinary practices in the postwar era allowed for new kinds of artistic engagement with nature. These include the postminimalist inscriptions associated with Land art; environmentally engaged practices designed to propose novel forms of stewardship; and more recent projects concerned with relationships between the most subtle and minute components of life and the large-scale appearance of the world. These projects unsettle the most basic operations of "natural" personhood and identity.Including a wide range of writings by and about artists, juxtaposed with influential texts from diverse theoretical bases, this collection provides an overview of the eclectic scientific and philosophical sources that inform contemporary art's investigations of nature.

Being Nuclear: Africans and the Global Uranium Trade


Gabrielle Hecht - 2012
    In 2003, after the infamous "yellow cake from Niger," Africa suddenly became notorious as a source of uranium, a component of nuclear weapons. But did that admit Niger, or any of Africa's other uranium-producing countries, to the select society of nuclear states? Does uranium itself count as a nuclear thing? In this book, Gabrielle Hecht lucidly probes the question of what it means for something--a state, an object, an industry, a workplace--to be "nuclear."Hecht shows that questions about being nuclear--a state that she calls "nuclearity"--lie at the heart of today's global nuclear order and the relationships between "developing nations" (often former colonies) and "nuclear powers" (often former colonizers). Hecht enters African nuclear worlds, focusing on miners and the occupational hazard of radiation exposure. Could a mine be a nuclear workplace if (as in some South African mines) its radiation levels went undetected and unmeasured? With this book, Hecht is the first to put Africa in the nuclear world, and the nuclear world in Africa. By doing so, she remakes our understanding of the nuclear age.

The Spine of the Continent: The Most Ambitious Wildlife Conservation Project Ever Undertaken


Mary Ellen Hannibal - 2012
    Wilson and Paul Ehrlich, who endorse his effort as necessary to saving nature on our continent.  With blue-ribbon scientific foundations, the Spine is yet a grassroots, cooperative effort among conservation activists – NGOs large and small -- and regular citizens.  The Spine of the Continent is not only about making physical connections so that nature will persist; it is about making connections between people and the land we call home.  In this fascinating, exciting, and important book, Mary Ellen Hannibal travels the length of the Spine, sharing stories and anecdotes about the passionate, idiosyncratic people she meets along the way – and the critters they love.

Rachel Carson and Her Book That Changed the World


Laurie Lawlor - 2012
    "Once you are aware of the wonder and beauty of earth, you will want to learn about it," wrote Rachel Carson, the pioneering environmentalist. She wrote Silent Spring, the book that woke people up to the harmful impact humans were having on our planet.

Enough Is Enough: Building a Sustainable Economy in a World of Finite Resources


Rob Dietz - 2012
    In Enough Is Enough, Rob Dietz and Dan O’Neill lay out a visionary but realistic alternative to the perpetual pursuit of economic growth—an economy where the goal is not more but enough. They explore specific strategies to conserve natural resources, stabilize population, reduce inequality, fix the financial system, create jobs, and more—all with the aim of maximizing long-term well-being instead of short-term profits. Filled with fresh ideas and surprising optimism, Enough Is Enough is the primer for achieving genuine prosperity and a hopeful future for all.

Rain Gardens: Sustainable Landscaping for a Beautiful Yard and a Healthy World


Lynn M. Steiner - 2012
    This environmentally friendly landscaping captures rainwater runoff rather than redirecting it into storm drains. The result is less erosion, less water pollution, and a beautiful, low-maintenance, sustainable garden. This is the first rain garden handbook for the backyard home gardener. Co-authors Robert Domm and Lynn Steiner draw on hands-on experience to help homeowners build beautiful rain gardens in their own yards. Illustrated with color photography, this instructive book offers specific advice about planning, building, planting, and maintaining your garden. Learn about city grants, how to calculate runoff, rain barrels, attracting wildlife, gray water recycling, and much more.

WATER : ASIA'S NEW BATTLEGROUND


Brahma Chellaney - 2012
    This is a vital book for anybody interested in diplomacy and conflict in the twenty-first century’ – Stanley A. Weiss, founding chairman, Business Executives for National Security, Washington DCThe battles of yesterday were fought over land; those of today are over energy. But the battles of tomorrow may be over water. Nowhere is that danger greater than in water-distressed Asia.Water stress is set to become Asia’s defining crisis of the twenty-first century, creating obstacles to continued rapid economic growth, stoking interstate tensions over shared resources, exacerbating long-time territorial disputes, and imposing further hardships on the poor. Asia is home to many of the world’s great rivers and lakes, but its huge population and exploding economic and agricultural demand for water make it the most water-scarce continent on a per capita basis. Many of Asia’s water sources cross national boundaries, and as less and less water is available, international tensions will rise. The potential for conflict is further underscored by China’s unrivalled global status as the source of transboundary river flows to the largest number of countries, as it declines to enter into water-sharing or cooperative treaties with these states, even as it taps the resources of international rivers.Water: Asia’s New Battleground is a pioneering study of Asia’s murky water politics and the relationships between freshwater, peace, and security. Brahma Chellaney paints a larger picture of water across Asia, highlights the security implications of resource-linked territorial disputes, and proposes real strategies to avoid conflict and more equitably share Asia’s water resources.

Full Body Burden: Growing Up in the Nuclear Shadow of Rocky Flats


Kristen Iversen - 2012
    Her father's hidden liquor bottles, the strange cancers in children in the neighborhood, the truth about what was made at Rocky Flats (cleaning supplies, her mother guessed)—best not to inquire too deeply into any of it.But as Iversen grew older, she began to ask questions. She learned about the infamous 1969 Mother's Day fire, in which a few scraps of plutonium spontaneously ignited and—despite the desperate efforts of firefighters—came perilously close to a "criticality," the deadly blue flash that signals a nuclear chain reaction. Intense heat and radiation almost melted the roof, which nearly resulted in an explosion that would have had devastating consequences for the entire Denver metro area. Yet the only mention of the fire was on page 28 of the Rocky Mountain News, underneath a photo of the Pet of the Week. In her early thirties, Iversen even worked at Rocky Flats for a time, typing up memos in which accidents were always called "incidents."And as this memoir unfolds, it reveals itself as a brilliant work of investigative journalism—a detailed and shocking account of the government's sustained attempt to conceal the effects of the toxic and radioactive waste released by Rocky Flats, and of local residents' vain attempts to seek justice in court. Here, too, are vivid portraits of former Rocky Flats workers—from the healthy, who regard their work at the plant with pride and patriotism, to the ill or dying, who battle for compensation for cancers they got on the job.Based on extensive interviews, FBI and EPA documents, and class-action testimony, this taut, beautifully written book promises to have a very long half-life.

Future Money: Breakdown or Breakthrough?


James Robertson - 2012
    Our present money system frustrates the well-meaning efforts of active citizens, NGOs and governments to deal with our present ills and problems - including worldwide poverty, environmental destruction, social injustice, economic inefficiency and political unrest and violence within and between nations. Failure to reform the world's money system urgently and radically - that is, from its roots up - could bring disaster for human civilization before the end of this century. "Future Money" shows clearly how our money system operates and how it could be reformed so that it acts for the benefit of people and society rather than the opposite, and describes the obstacles that currently prevent that reform.The world's financial experts and leaders in politics, government and business, and most mainstream academic and media commentators, have demonstrated that they are not yet able or willing to diagnose and treat the profound and pervasive problems that are directly caused by the money system. "Future Money" speaks explicitly to active, independent-minded citizens, including young people, with the hope that it will help them to understand why people committed to careers in almost every important walk of life today find it difficult to recognize the problem and grasp the nettle. It shows why we have to take the initiative now, and urgently, to get the issue on to mainstream agendas worldwide.

The Wrong Complexion for Protection: How the Government Response to Disaster Endangers African American Communities


Robert D. Bullard - 2012
    In The Wrong Complexion for Protection, Robert D. Bullard and Beverly Wright place the government response to natural and human-induced disasters in historical context over the past eight decades. They compare and contrast how the government responded to emergencies, including environmental and public health emergencies, toxic contamination, industrial accidents, bioterrorism threats and show that African Americans are disproportionately affected. Bullard and Wright argue that uncovering and eliminating disparate disaster response can mean the difference between life and death for those most vulnerable in disastrous times.

The People, Place, and Space Reader


William Mangold - 2012
    They help us to understand the relationships between people and the environment at all scales, and to consider the active roles individuals, groups, and social structures play in creating the environments in which people live, work, and play. These readings highlight the ways in which space and place are produced through large- and small-scale social, political, and economic practices, and offer new ways to think about how people engage the environment in multiple and diverse ways.Providing an essential resource for students of urban studies, geography, sociology and many other areas, this book brings together important but, till now, widely dispersed writings across many inter-related disciplines. Introductions from the editors precede each section; introducing the texts, demonstrating their significance, and outlining the key issues surrounding the topic. A companion website, PeoplePlaceSpace.org, extends the work even further by providing an on-going series of additional reading lists that cover issues ranging from food security to foreclosure, psychiatric spaces to the environments of predator animals.

Greening Vermont: The Search for a Sustainable State


Eric Zencey - 2012
    Nor can we continue to delude ourselves into thinking that the planet's resources are infinite. They are finite, and if we don't act to establish a sustainable relationship between humans and nature, these resources will run out sooner rather than later. Greening Vermont: In Search of a Sustainable State (Vermont Natural Resources Council, Thistle Hill Publications) looks back over five decades of Vermont's environmental activism in order to move us all forward into ecological sustainability. This book is a story about people, politics, money and the environment. As Tom Slayton tells us in his Forward: "It is a tale of environmental victories, defeats and, perhaps most significantly, collaborations and compromises that have put Vermont at the forefront of the environmental movement". Greening Vermont is a call to action. Authors Elizabeth Courtney and Eric Zencey advise: "Our ecosystems are out of balance, and if we don't address this issue now, there is no certain sustainable future." Our states are all currently unsustainable. We must fit our economic life into its proper ecological and social context, so Vermonters and the rest of us can enjoy a healthy environment. Greening Vermont illustrates what sustainability will look like and how we can shift our economic and energy resources to achieve that desired state. The book includes fascinating in depth interviews with Vermont movers and shakers from over the years, as well as stunning illustrations of the Vermont countryside.

Sirocco the Rock-Star Kakapo


Sarah Ell - 2012
    And you may have seen the incredible footage on Youtube of him trying to mate with a BBC presenter's head. Not only is he one of the last 126 of his species left on the planet, he has a very special role to play promoting the recovery of his kind and in conservation in general. This junior non-fiction book tells the story of the remarkable parrot who has become a worldwide sensation. The narrative follows Sirocco's journey from sick chick to conservation superstar, with sidebars of more specific information about the kakapo and the recovery programme.

Confronting Power: The Practice of Policy Advocacy


Jeff Unsicker - 2012
    Based on the author's experiences both as teacher and activist, the framework is general enough to be relevant for advocacy in a variety of sectors such as poverty alleviation, human rights and the environment, in different national and cultural contexts, and at levels ranging from influencing a town council to transnational institutions such as the World Bank. The book grounds the concepts via a series of case studies, which themselves illustrate a range of different advocacy campaigns in both the Global South and the United States. Designed to be both a textbook and a guide for practical action, "Confronting Power" should become an essential component of every teacher and social advocate s tool kit.

Spinach Soup for the Walls


Lynne Harkes - 2012
    When we see our troubles as opportunities for growth, we can turn our lives around. Lynne Harkes has lived in many wonderful and colourful places, moving from Nigeria to South America, from the Sultanate of Oman to the jungle of Gabon in West Africa. Lynne describes graphically both the warm hospitality and resilience of the native peoples, and the magnificence of the landscape and animal world. But equally, the intensity of such a nomadic existence magnifies one's personal challenges, and Lynne found herself retreating into unhappiness and isolation. This beautifully written book is the story of how she fought to rediscover her own spirituality and find a new way of thinking. In the end, she would say, it was simple: we must learn to see the beauty of nature and of our own everyday world, to "recognise the remarkable in the ordinary."

Navigating Environmental Attitudes


Thomas A. Heberlein - 2012
    We are constantly told that halting climate change requires raising awareness, changing attitudes, and finally altering behaviors among the general public-and fast. New information, attitudes, and actions, it isconventionally assumed, will necessarily follow one from the other. But this approach ignores much of what is known about attitudes in general and environmental attitudes specifically-there is a huge gap between what we say and what we do.Solving environmental problems requires a scientific understanding of public attitudes. Like rocks in a swollen river, attitudes often lie beneath the surface-hard to see, and even harder to move or change. In Navigating Environmental Attitudes, Thomas Heberlein helps us read the water and negotiateits hidden obstacles, explaining what attitudes are, how they change and influence behavior. Rather than necessarily trying to change public attitudes, we need to design solutions and policies with them in mind. He illustrates these points by tracing the attitudes of the well-knownenvironmentalist Aldo Leopold, while tying social psychology to real-world behaviors throughout the book.Bringing together theory and practice, Navigating Environmental Attitudes provides a realistic understanding of why and how attitudes matter when it comes to environmental problems; and how, by balancing natural with social science, we can step back from false assumptions and unproductive, frustrating programs to work toward fostering successful, effective environmental action.With lively prose, inviting stories, and solid science, Heberlein pilots us deftly through the previously uncharted waters of environmental attitudes. It's a voyage anyone interested in environmental issues needs to take.-- Robert B. Cialdini, author of Influence: Science and PracticeNavigating Environmental Attitudes is a terrific book. Heberlein's authentic voice and the book's organization around stories keeps readers hooked. Wildlife biologists, natural resource managers, conservation biologists - and anyone else trying to solve environmental problems - will learn a lotabout attitudes, behaviors, and norms; and the fallacy of the Cognitive Fix.-- Stephen Russell Carpenter, Stephen Alfred Forbes Professor of Zoology, University of Wisconsin-MadisonPeople who have spent their lives dealing with environmental issues from a broad range of perspectives consistently abide by erroneous assumption that all we need to do to solve environmental problems is to educate the public. I consider it to be the most dangerous of all assumptions inenvironmental management. In Navigating Environmental Attitudes, Tom Heberlein brings together expertise in social and biophysical sciences to do an important kind of 'science education'-educating eminent scientists about the realities of their interactions with the broader public. --the late Bill Freudenburg, Dehlsen Professor of Environment and Society, University of California, Santa Barbara

Vagabond Dreams


Ryan Murdock - 2012
    At its heart is the uncompromising vision of rising beyond one's self imposed limitations and truly living. This powerful map to Road Wisdom is for brave travelers determined to embrace personal freedom and create the life of their choice. Who are you without your boxes? Are you ready to find out?

The Last Atoll: Exploring the Far End of the Hawai'ian Archipelago


Pamela Frierson - 2012
    Frierson takes readers on a rare journey to eight of these remote and ancient islands, including the Kure Atoll, the oldest Hawa'i'ian island and the northernmost atoll in the world. In her 1,200-mile travels, Frierson discovers isolated landscapes, undisturbed ecosystems, and a nearly forgotten but well-preserved human history. It is a rich history of discovery by explorers and pirates, plus extensive military use. Frierson finds a vast wilderness, including the remnants of ancient volcanoes, and unique species of wildlife. She also explores the islands' location in the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, a major current that washes up the world's garbage. A lifelong resident of Hawai'i, Frierson draws broad conclusions relating to islands and their "canary in a coal mine" role.

A History of the Arctic: Nature, Exploration and Exploitation


John McCannon - 2012
    Polar bears, seals, and killer whales. Victor Frankenstein chasing his monstrous creation across icy terrain in a dogsled. The arctic calls to mind a myriad different images. Consisting of the Arctic Ocean and parts of Canada, the United States, Russia, Greenland, Finland, Norway and Sweden, the arctic possesses a unique ecosystem—temperatures average negative 29 degrees Fahrenheit in winter and rarely rise above freezing in summer—and the indigenous peoples and cultures that live in the region have had to adapt to the harsh weather conditions. As global temperatures rise, the arctic is facing an environmental crisis, with melting glaciers causing grave concern around the world. But for all the renown of this frozen region, the arctic remains far from perfectly understood. In A History of the Arctic, award-winning polar historian John McCannon provides an engaging overview of the region that spans from the Stone Age to the present. McCannon discusses polar exploration and science, nation-building, diplomacy, environmental issues, and climate change, and the role indigenous populations have played in the arctic’s story. Chronicling the history of each arctic nation, he details the many failed searches for a Northwest Passage and the territorial claims that hamper use of these waterways. He also explores the resources found in the arctic—oil, natural gas, minerals, fresh water, and fish—and describes the importance they hold as these resources are depleted elsewhere, as well as the challenges we face in extracting them. A timely assessment of current diplomatic and environmental realities, as well as the dire risks the region now faces, A History of the Arctic is a thoroughly engrossing book on the past—and future—of the top of the world.

Myths, Lies and Oil Wars


F. William Engdahl - 2012
    The myth originated in the 1950's from a geologist at Shell, and was revived by the big oil giants in 2003 in time for the US bombing of Iraq. The reality is quite different from claims of Peak Oil. Truth is that the world is running into oil, not running out of oil. Huge new oil and gas fields are being discovered from the eastern Mediterranean to the coast of Brazil, from East Africa to Iran and Iraq, from Norway to the Caribbean. F. William Engdahl discusses little-known details of wars and manipulations designed over the past half century or more-- wars in Africa, the mis-named Arab Spring, Iraq, Afghanistan, all to maintain a lock-grip control of the world's known oilfields. The myth of scarcity has been a pillar of their power and in fact of the power-projection of the United States as sole superpower. The book details revolutionary new scientific work developed in Cold War secrecy in the Soviet Union which proved that oil originates not from dinosaur detritus or fossilized algae as western geology mythology maintains. The Soviet scientists showed that oil and gas have deep Earth origins some 200 km below. Like volcanoes, hydrocarbons are forced upwards until they typically are "trapped" in reservoir rock formations. The Russian work has been the target of a concerted campaign to discredit the theory. Little wonder. Were its implications understood widely, oil and gas would be considered as virtually a renewable energy and our energy crises and wars a thing of the past. As Henry Kissinger said, "If you control the oil you control entire nations." The converse is also true--If oil cannot be controlled the controlling powers lose their control over other nations and the wars that go with it. This book is an eye-opener to comprehend the endless wars of the past decades.

Sustainability: A Comprehensive Foundation


Tom Theis - 2012
    As sustainability is a multi-disciplinary area of study, the text is the product of multiple authors drawn from the diverse faculty of the University of Illinois: each chapter is written by a recognized expert in the field.

The Eye of the Crocodile


Val Plumwood - 2012
    Her book Feminism and the Mastery of Nature (1992) has become a classic. In 1985 she was attacked by a crocodile while kayaking alone in the Kakadu national park in the Northern Territory. She was death rolled three times before being released from the crocodile’s jaws. She crawled for hours through swamp with appalling injuries before being rescued. The experience made her well placed to write about cultural responses to death and predation. The first section of The Eye of the Crocodile consists of chapters intended for a book on crocodiles that remained unfinished at the time of Val’s death. The remaining chapters are previously published papers brought together to form an overview of Val’s ideas on death, predation and nature.

Early Childhood Activities for a Greener Earth


Patty Born Selly - 2012
    These activities encourage children to develop a sense of wonder, curiosity, and joy for nature. Each chapter focuses on a common and important environmental topic—from waste reduction and recycling to air quality, weather and climate change, and energy reduction—and provides information to help you present these topics to children in developmentally appropriate ways. Early Childhood Activities for a Greener Earth will help you excite children, engage families, and encourage your community to be green.Early Childhood Activities for a Greener Earth is a 2014 Teachers’ Choice Award for the Classroom winner!

Jung and Ecopsychology: The Dairy Farmer's Guide to the Universe, Vol. 1


Dennis L. Merritt - 2012
    He has both in almost devilish perfection. What he lacks is conscious recognition of his inferiority to nature around him and within him. He must learn that he may not do exactly as he wills. If he does not learn this, his own nature will destroy him. He does not know that his own soul is rebelling against him in a suicidal way." --C.G. Jung Carl Jung believed there had to be a major paradigm shift in Western culture if we were to avert many of the apocalyptic conditions described in the Book of Revelation. He coined the terms 'New Age' and 'Age of Aquarius' to describe a change in consciousness that would honor the feminine, our bodies, sexuality, the earth, animals, and indigenous cultures. Jung deplored the fast pace of modern life with its empty consumerism and the lack of a spiritual dimension. Volume 1 of The Dairy Farmer's Guide to the Universe develops the framework and principles of Jungian ecopsychology and describes how they can be applied to our educational system and in the practice of psychotherapy. It offers a response to Jung's challenge to unite our cultured side with the 'two million-year-old man within' thereby opening a bridge to the remaining indigenous cultures. Dreamwork, individuation, synchronicity, and the experience of the numinous are important elements in this conceptual system. The Dairy Farmer's Guide provides a Jungian contribution to the developing field of ecopsychology, exploring values, attitudes and perceptions that impact our view of the natural world nature within, nature without.

Drops of Life


Esko-Pekka Tiitinen - 2012
    An elderly owl and a whale help a dove make the long journey home to Africa, but once they arrive, they find that a desert has taken over the once-lush forest. With the cooperation of other animals, a human, the sun, the water, and a favorable wind, they can sow the seeds of life again. This beautifully illustrated fable deals with many themes, including solidarity, respect for nature, overcoming obstacles by helping one another, and the benefits of teamwork.